The inside of one of the Pump Houses
A GH¢6.4 million irrigation project completed in 2016 to support farming in three communities in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region would now be put to good use after two years of inactivity.
The facility, which was officially handed over to the three communities recently, is to ensure all-year round farming on about 225 hectares of land.
However, there was no serious farming on the 74 hectares of land at Afawode, 65 hectares at Agorveme and 86 hectares at Volo for two years.
Some of the farmers, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, could not fathom why the authorities waited for two years to make it operational.
According to farmers in the three communities of Dorfor Agorveme, Afawode and Volo, it was needless to hold a ceremony to hand over the irrigation project if there were no clear plans to activate it.
The project was also supported by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) as part of efforts to help farmers in those areas engage in all-year round farming to improve food security and reduce rural-urban migration.
According to the residents, the projects were handed over to the communities in August 2016.
Thieves stole cables that facilitate electricity supply to the irrigation plant at Volo where water is tapped from the Volta River and pumped into a reservoir for irrigation.
They called for the repair of damaged equipment and replacement of the stolen cables.
Secretary of Irrigation Farmers Association (IFA), Grace Atta, said that they did not use the facility because of faults, as well as anticipated high cost of operation.
The Regional Manager of Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA), Joseph Nartey, said their concerns would be addressed.
He added that the thieves that stole the cables at Volo had been apprehended and arraigned before court.
He said the Authority was in talks with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to restore power supply to the facility.
From Fred Duodu, Ho (k.duodu@gmail.com